


Milk Carton Kid

by neuronary



Category: The Umbrella Academy (TV)
Genre: Gen, Number Five | The Boy Has Issues, Number Five | The Boy Needs A Hug, Number Five | The Boy-centric
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2020-10-28
Updated: 2020-10-28
Packaged: 2021-03-09 01:20:56
Rating: General Audiences
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 1
Words: 721
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/27216322
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/neuronary/pseuds/neuronary
Summary: “Our brother, Five, went missing last week. We don’t know where he is, and we can’t find him on our own, so please, if anyone has seen him, please contact the NYPD.”---Or, Five is one of America's most famous milk carton kids. He's made aware of this by a radio newscast on March 26th, 2019.
Relationships: Number Five | The Boy & The Hargreeves (Umbrella Academy)
Comments: 6
Kudos: 127





	Milk Carton Kid

**Author's Note:**

> inspired by captainkirkk on tumblr. as per usual with these. originally posted on tumblr a While ago, under the same username. archiving it here because i was reminded that i wrote it and actually thought it was pretty good. hope you enjoy!
> 
> ~Neu

“ _And in other news_ ,” the radio blared from its haphazard position in the back seat of Five’s stolen van, “ _the missing ‘Five Hargreeves’, who first disappeared over sixteen years ago, has been spotted around central New York City, reviving a years long search for one of America’s most famous milk carton kids.”_

What.

Five turned the volume up, ignoring Dolores’ look.

“ _The shocking part of all this_ ,” a different reporter continued, “ _is that little Five looks no older than the day he vanished. It has been over a decade since that fateful day, but in case anyone listening has any information as to the whereabouts of this young man, here’s an old interview on the topic from his siblings.”_

Five reached out for Dolores’ hand, needing something solid to grip onto. He felt dizzy, like he’d spent too long choking on ash except there was no ash, just a news report on the radio about _him_.

“ _Our brother, Five, went missing last week._ ” It was Klaus’ voice, but not the new, homeless junkie Klaus that Five was still getting used to. It was _his_ Klaus, the one that made stupidly loud jokes as soon as Dad left the room, the one that he’d thought he might actually be able to help, one day. “ _We don’t know where he is, and we can’t find him on our own, so please, if anyone has seen him, please contact the NYPD.”_

_“And, Five”_ \- Ben, his Ben, the one he couldn’t find, the one he couldn’t save, sounding more familiar than anything else in this future-that-was-the-past, and Five couldn’t _breathe_ \- “ _if you’re out there, if you’re hearing this... please come home. We miss you.”_

_Crying is a waste of water_ , Dolores reminded him gently.

“I know,” he forced out, pressing his palms into his eyes hard enough to leave bruises. “I’m not gonna--” he had to cut himself off, breathing harshly around a lump in his throat that hadn’t been there earlier. “It’s _fine_.”

_Try not to breathe too deeply, you might choke_.

“I know.”

“ _Allison Hargreeves, the movie star, never gave up on her brother, mentioning him and asking for any information in almost every one of her interviews, including her most recent, just a few weeks ago.”_

_“So, Allison, your brother, Five,”_ said yet another reporter. _“You mention him often. Why is that?”_

_“It’s silly_ ,” and at least it was the strange, grown-up Allison from now, rather than the bitter, cynical little girl from his memories, “ _but there’s a part of me that thinks he might hear this. Like, if I say it enough, he’ll come back. I just want to know he’s okay.”_

There was a payphone across the street. He could call the academy. It would be a waste of time. He might miss something. He might start crying because of his stupid thirteen-year-old body that had forgotten how to properly preserve water.

_It wouldn’t take that long_.

“How long?”

_Maybe five minutes. Less._

“Aren’t you supposed to be keeping me sensible?”

_Possibly._

“You really think...”

_You’ll be more distracted for longer if you don’t._

“...Fine. Keep an eye on everything for me.”

He found almost three dollars in quarters in the dashboard of the stolen van. The jump was easy. He still had the academy’s phone number memorised from the first time he’d looked like this. It had seemed important, and then it just stuck.

The phone rang for three cycles before someone picked up.

“ _Hello?”_

“Allison?”

“ _Five! Oh, thank God, guys, it’s Five! Are you okay?”_

They’d been worried about him?

“I’m-- Yeah,” he said, trying to keep his voice steady. “I’m fine.”

_“Are you sure? You sound... look, where are you? We need to talk. Vanya, wait! Five is okay._ ”

“What do we need to talk about?”

“ _Well... it’ll be easier to explain in person, and... I think we’d all like to know you’re okay.”_

He didn’t have time for this. He really didn’t.

_Please come home. We miss you._

_I just want to know he’s okay._

“I’m outside the MeriTech building, at a payphone.” He rattled off the adress despite himself. “Don’t draw attention to yourselves. You’ll blow my cover.”

He’d probably already blown his own cover, but it was fine.

Dolores laughed at him when he got back in the car, but that was fine too.

**Author's Note:**

> and then allison and vanya reluctantly team up to make sure five is okay, resolve their issues, and remain entirely unconvinced that five isn't thirteen. the world is saved, somewhat inadvertently, and five has to release an official press statement. (it's not as bad as he thought it would be, but that might be because allison kept an arm round his shoulders the whole time and deflected every question with the kind of grace she'd learned when they were children.)


End file.
